I'm 6', 180lbs and riding an 18". I used Airborne's website to calculate the frame size. I could just as easily be on a 20" and maybe should, but I really like the feel of the 18" frame. Nice, tight geometry, slices like a bad-mammajamma and climbs great, too. As mentioned by others, their customer service is a pleasure to deal with. My girlfriend actually got me a corsair to begin with (yeah, ain't she sweet...) but I wanted to run discs. They exchanged the frame, no problem. Though I did ask for them to leave the stickers off of the frame they still put 'em on. Oh well, a razor blade and an hour later and that problem was solved.Great ride for a great price.Who should buy an airborne: Those wanting a sweet ti ride without having to sacrifice body parts to get it.

Weaknesses: Chinese titanium, some politically correct people will complain

Bottom Line:

Very easy to deal with airborne, excellent customer service. I purchased this bike used and had it sent to Airborne to get the bike checked. They tuned it up, checked the frame, transfered the warranty and sent it back to me. I weigh 235 pounds and this bike does NOT flex much at all. I liked this bike so much that I ordered a new one for my wife. This is the best value in a Titanium bike on the market. The purchase by Huffy only seems to have helped them to bring more bikes into the market. Mine is a pre-Huffy and I was worried at first. Not now though. Go check their website at all the cool bikes.

Please ignor Derek's review below. He is just mad over a stripped seatpost clamp because he can't use a wrench.

Weaknesses: hmm...cheap stickers, stereotypes from posers.Not really a weakness, but rather a warning: Due to the excellent climbing geometry of the rear triangle, on decents that same rear triangle takes one-hell-of-a-lot of punishment if your going down bumby, rooty, rocky fire roads. I had to replace my free-hub body in my SPOX rear wheel after about 2 rides at OAT HILL trail in Calistoga, CA.

Bottom Line:

Frekin' Awsome bike. Climbs like a champ, decends like a recently released river down the Mississippi floodplain. I would like to address some of the Nay-Sayers: Huffy did buy out Airborne, yes, that is true...but did you know that the collective card carrying members of the Klu Klux Klan own 50.2 percent of Snapple beverages? Point is, that we live in a ever increasing world of consolidation. Get over it!I spent about six months researching what bike i was going to spend my hard-erned money on and i could not find a better bike than the Airborne.I've learned a few tricks for getting my bike just right. I am 6' 185lbs, and i ride a (smaller than recomended) 18" frame. I place my Selle Italia saddle as far back on my post as possible. This give guys like me (that is most of my height comes from having a long torsoe) an extra little bounce during bumby climbs. Think of it as a See-Saw effect. I also run about 4" of travel on my fork because the geometry of the rear triangle is sooo sharp compared to the long top tube and openess of the front triangle that the bike won't flex vertically even if the fork rebounds from a 3.5" drop. This allows me to clear steep decents without having to streach out and risk the loss of balance. This bike also handles best with a standard no rise bar...not that i have much choice with my stem. If you use a no-binding "old school" Syncros cow-head stem you know what i'm saying.I think the best feature of this bike is its geometry. It puts the rider right on top of the rear wheel so you can climb (even the tech. stuff) without having to come out of the saddle if you don't want to. Hell, i can even steer around obstacles and switch backs on steep climbs without fear.PS: You absolutely must run with fat tires. So all you bright orange clad racers throw away your slicks. This is a RIDE HARD bike. It works best if you know how to ride it. That is you have to have some turning skills (like riding my old POWELL PARALTA bmx bike). Trust the bike, that tight, high speed turn you never seem to make at speed...you can make it with this bike.OH, one more thing...anyone looking to ride in the Bay area, look me up!Mike

Strengths: Great titanium price at an amazing price. Good welds, great geometry. From the time it takes to order this bike, build it and get it through the mail, is fantastic. 14" frame is great for the smaller rider who wants more control.

Weaknesses: Marzocchi fork not set up well upon delivery. The frame flexes as expected.

Bottom Line:

This bike is a great second bike for anyone who doesnt care much about the prettyness of their bike (though I think mine is a work of art). The bike rides fantastic and just begs to ridden hard, I feel as if I have more confidence as a rider because of it. The people at Airborne are amazing also. If a part you need isnt in stock, they will not hesitate to upgrade that part for almost no surcharge.

I've take this bike riding trails, urban assault and just cruizing and in every way this bike performs great. The 14" inch frame makes this bike fantastic for more technical riding and jumping. I highly recommend this bike.

I purchased my Lucky Strike frame from the owner of the company at the bike show. I had my LBS do the build up with instructions to make it fast and light with no concern for cost. I have raced this bike in addition to riding it 3+ times a week for two years. It is a great bike! It climbs fantastic and is a joy on fast and technical singletrack. I have never had a problem of any kind. I ride hard and I am 170pds. I have noticed a slight flex in technical sections that involve drops and turns, However that is not the type of riding the bike was designed to handle. I own a number of highline road and mountain bikes and can afford to build what I want and I still find myself riding the Lucky Strike more often than not. I would recommend this frame to anyone that is looking for a quality ride. You can build it for much less than I spent and still end up with a great rig at a bargain price. The build quality and performance is there, don't believe the boutique, pimp ride polishers that say otherwise.

I Have cracked every frame I have ever owned, mainly because I am an aggressive 215+ lb rider. And true to form I have also cracked this frame as well. Does this Frame FLex? OH HELL YEA, but what would you expect especially with the abuse the frame was under. But the bike has been great. I really have no compliants, It does everything well.My only concern now is the hairline cracks that developed on the top tube, going across the welds, onto the seat tube. I am afraid that they will not warranty the frame, blame the cracks to perhaps a too short of a seatpost, which honestly is not the case. I just sent it off and will post another result depending on the outcome.

I ORIGINALLY POSTED A EXCELLENT REVIEW HERE MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE CUSTOMER RELATIONS. WHAT I DID'NT KNOW WAS THAT 6 MONTHS LATER, AIRBORNE KEPT MY CREDIT CARD # AND BILLED ME MORE $ FOR A REPLACEMENT BAR AND STEM AFTER THE ORIGINAL WAS NOT A GOOD FIT. WHEN THE 2ND BAR AND STEM CAME, I IMMEDEATELY GOT A CHARGE ON MY CREDIT CARD AND THOUGHT I PURCHASED THE 2ND SET-UP. I DID NOT READ THE FINE PRINT AND DID NOT KNOW I STILL HAD TO SHIP THE 1ST SET-UP BACK, SINCE I WAS BILLED. NOW, 6 MONTHS LATER, I AM BILLED AN ADDITIONAL $66 FOR NOT RETURNING THE IST SET-UP.I FEEL THIS IS BAD CUSTOMER RELATIONS, ESPECIALLY SINCE I WAS'NT ABLE TO RIDE THE BIKE FIRST. ALL THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO DO WAS NOTIFY ME WITH A SIMPLE E-MAIL OR CALL, AND INFORM ME I OWED THEM THE 1ST SET-UP. NOT JUST BILL AN EXISTING ACCT, SO BE VERY CAREFUL DEALING WITH THEM

Strengths: The frame is indestructable. It climbs and acelerates very well. I want to consistantly go faster whenever I ride it. The seat stay design reduces frame flex as experienced in other titanium frames when applying the rear brake.

Weaknesses: Too much lateral flex. Do not try to go MTB trail touring with it as which might be true with any titanium frame. The manufacturer has removed the rear rack mounting holes from angles where the seat and chain stays meet. It will also flex laterally if out of the saddle and sprinting, especially at my weight of 180 pounds. The weight is 3.76 lb for an 18 inch frame, which is heavier for a titanium frame, but the bike is still quite light with the components (~23 lbs) and for the price.

Bottom Line:

This bike is a good alternative to more expensive titanium bikes. I have had mine since April of '99 and have raced 28 XC mountain bike races with it. I have around 2100 miles on it and have had only componentry problems such as broken chain, pulled spokes, pinch and thorn flats. If you weigh more than 180 pounds and ride a 19.5 inch frame this bike may have too much lateral flex for you. The best way to find out if you like is to ask a friend who has one to let you test ride it or go to Airborne in Madison, WI like I did and test ride one for a couple of days. Their service is great and you will not need to use the lifetime warranty for the frame. Good luck finding your ride!

Strengths: - Ti bike at a great price. That means a great frame to ride in terms of life weight and softness, in my opinion is one of the best bikes price performance.

Weaknesses: Airborne Saddle it hard, get a different one

Bottom Line:

I had a Specialized Stumpjumper 90 M2. I was happy actually it is a great bike, but I decided it was time to get a new bike. I went and look at different bikes, my budget was around 1000 USD, I ride twice a week, I have been riding for 7 years. I wanted a light hard tail bike, I will not go into the details of why I discared full suspension bikes. Anyway, I tried to find a Specialized Stumpjumper M2 and I could not find a decent price on that bike and could not find my size to try the bike. So my second option was Cannondale, I got a good price on a F700 with XT components and I was happy with their suspension. Nevertheless when I started to ride it, I had some problems: Too stiff, center of gravity was too high, which meant that going downhill I did not feel comfortable. So I decided to switch again, after 3 months with my Cannondale. When I bought the Cannondale I did not purchased the Airborne because I could not ride it. But later a friend of mine bought one and I was able to test the bike.That is when I fell in love with the bike. It was soft as my stumpjumper, but lighter, great bike going uphill and even better going down hill. The frame will last forever, will never scratch. The geometry is very well balance in terms of the size ratios. Get this bike, do not get scared because you can not test the bike, you will like it.Price performance I do not think anybody can beat this bike. When I looked at other Ti bikes they were at least 1000 USD more expensive.Company: Look guys, I am located in Mexico, I exchanged my seat and post, my credit card did not work the first time. Regardless of all the problems they had with me as a customer, they were GREAT, customer service was great. Everything I did was using email, and it worked great.

Maybe you read this and think this is too good to be true. Well is true. There is something bad I have to said their saddle is terrible, get another one, not the airborne saddle.

5 flaming chilies. Please ignore the Jeff (wait for me) Pagan comment below. It is a ridiculous flame-post, and I suspect that Derek Mattice posted it. For some reason, some people need to slag Airborne -- I guess they find it funny. I don't. I have ridden lots of bikes and owned several hardtails, and I have never ridden any hardtail that handles, climbs, descends, corners, and just plain rides as well as this bike. Anyone who has a problem with this bike either probably hasn't been fit correctly, or just doesn't like the Ti ride. As to fit, Airborne's customer service is unparalleled and they will do everything they can to fit you to the right setup. As to the Ti ride, if you don't like it, Airborne also makes a CrMo frame. The bottom line -- there are NO flaws in this bike. If you buy one, you will NOT be disappointed.

Awesome, light, responsive and strong.Buying the bike was the best part.They have a great website that simplifies the whole process. I found the fork (a demo at 1/2 off retail price) on their classified ads page and went from there.They don't make the Lucky Strike without Disc tabs any more so I asked them if they had any more of the old frames. The president of the company e-mailed me back saying that he had one left with a blemish on the decal and gave me a good discount. I asked him who I could call to spec. the rest of the bike and he gave me his direct number. Spent about 45 minutes going over each component after asking me some basic questions about my height, weight and riding style. A week later, the bike was at my house. After spending an hour carefully unpacking the bike, attaching the handlebar, my pedals, front wheel, and seatpost, I was on the trails.It climbs like a goat and is fast and stable. After a week or so, I decided to get a longer stem so I called them up and they sent me a new one for free.Now it's perfect.I highly recommend the company and their bikes to anyone who wants a quality Ti bike at a budget price.

Weaknesses: Cable routing: the cable guides/braze-ons are located on the bottom of the top tube. This makes carrying the bike difficult. Also, with Airborne, you cannot test ride the bike before buying.

Bottom Line:

I have now owned my Lucky Strike for 13 months and have probably put 2,000 miles on it on dirt, rock, and desert sand (I ride almost exclusively off-road). The bottom line is that this is a great bike, especially when you consider the price. I daresay that it rides as well as Ti bikes twice the price.

There's not much I can say that hasn't been said below on the positive aspects of this bike and how it handles. Just some thoughts:

- I have crashed this bike multiple times -- hard. There have been no structural effects to the frame from these wrecks, and the worst thing that happened was a bent brake lever (that my LBS was able to fix).- I "upgraded" from the Rock Shox suspension seat post to a rigid carbon fiber post -- I didn't like the feel of the sus. post under my rear. The combination of the Ti frame and the sus. post actually provided too much vertical flex. Now, with the rigid post, the feel is perfect.- The frame is rigid in all the right places (laterally), and flexy where it is supposed to be (vertically).- The $1,300 price listed at the top of this page for this bike is a bit of a red herring. That price would be with the bottom end components only. I had to spend $2,100 to get an XT Lucky Strike that weighs 23.5 lbs. My guess is that the guy below whose bike weighs 20.5 lbs. (!) must have spent close to 3K. Yes, there is an inverse relationship between the amount you spend and the weight of the overall bike. This relationship is easy to see when you are spec-ing out your bike on Airborne's cool web page.- I found that individually picking my own components was one of the best things about this bike. You get a ride that is personalized for YOU.- Customer service: 1) I got a free upgrade on my wheelset (almost a $150 value) simply because they were out of stock of the set I ordered. 2) I have changed my stem free of charge four times under the fit guarantee (yes, I'm a perfectionist and am trying to "detail" the fit). With each request, Airborne has sent me a new stem free of charge.

This is a great bike at a greater price. The only danger is that the consumer will listen to those like Derek who for various reasons are threatened by the Airborne Corporation, instead of purchasing one of these wonderful mountain bikes.

Strengths: Strong construction, bike has stood up to some abuse on trails. I weigh in at 190 pounds and am an avid twice a week rider in trails alone. The bike is responsive in tight technical areas and is a great climber. The fit of the bike is comfortable as well as efficient. Also the bike does not make creaking noises as aluminum bikes do and absorbs more of vibration than aluminum frames. I purchased my Airborne on the internet and found the whole experience outstanding. There staff was informative and to the point. All options I had selected with the bike came in 100% correct. And the bike was reveived a day ahead of their promise date. A nice follow up card and call was also done to check out satisfaction as well as how the minor assembly went together, nice touch.

Weaknesses: Only one - the headset froze up on me. Airborne sent me a new one overnight.

Bottom Line:

This bike was a great purchase from the start. I purchased the bike on the internet which initially I had felt akward about. But dealing with their staff was a pleasure. Every component I had selected was all there 100 percent. And the bike was even received a day ahead of schedule. This bike is not a cheap entry to Titamium. I am a 190 pound rider who rides twice a week religiously and not on gravel roads. This bike handles extemely well and is a great climber. I would definetely recommend this bike to anyone interested. See you on the trails, I will be the one who just passed you out with an smile from ear to ear.

Strengths: Wow.. it's wicked fast, first of all. The brakes are excellent, as is the drivetrain. I loved picking-out the parts myself, and it's also a good-looking bike. It's good going both uphill and downhill - nice and light. And you can't beat the price.

Weaknesses: Well, if you're a label snob, you'll either have to get over the name or buy something else.

Bottom Line:

The service department at Airborne was top-notch. The bike gets me around town during the week, and on the weekends, it takes me everywhere else.

Airborne sent the bike partially assembled. If you're not comfortable installing the seat, handlebars, and pedals, you can bring it to a bike shop for assembly and Airborne will rebate the cost up to $25. Excellent.

Also, be careful with the parts picker - you can end-up shooting yourself in the foot if you're not careful. And get over companies, people. Ride!

Strengths: Tough,durable and has a good geometryfor tight corners and technical areas.Much smoother ride than my old M2 Stumpy.

Weaknesses: I have an occasional creak but ithink it's the XT chainrings wearingout.I go thorough those frequentlyfrom lots of climbing...

Bottom Line:

I've had the pleasure of riding the Lucky Strike for 2 years and still have great performance fromthis well built bike.I race,ride many miles intraining and it still never fails.I have riddenthe Obed and i liked it also,but it didn't feel any better than the Airborne.The fit acually feltless efficient since it was slightly larger.

There is a posted review from Derek Mattice thathas been revealed on another bicycle site to be untrue.He doesn't even own an Airborne,admitted he just wanted to stir controversy.It is a case of pure jealousy that Airborne owners can get such a good deal and others gotta burn their wallets to geta Ti bike.

My father (expert welder) inspected the welds and told me that they are natural and not ground.No pinholes or flaws that would affect the integretyof the frame.The finish is not bead-blasted likea Moots or LS but is is semi polished and brushed.Easy to fix when scratched on rocks.I don't see why Airborne is criticized for it's unfinished lookwhen a heavy duty downhill bike like Brooklyn Cyclesspecializes in unfinished,rough Heavy Metal partsthat can be only described as jewelery for death metal groups.

I have tested this bike in some of the most ruggedconditions of the US,my own backyard.From easy shorttrips,challenging singletrack to steep technicalterrain,this bike can deliver my skills effectively.I can climb 1000s of feet in altitude with ease and bomb down Haflin Canyon,a very steep and technicalarea near Durango that no average riding tourist should ever try.And if you do,better buy a $1 CO outdoor rescue card or you'll get charged the full amount for rescue if ya get hurt,which is entirely possible there.(hundreds to $1000s of $$$$).

I don't believe those kind of riding conditions existin the state of Michigan,Derek.We have REAL MTS,REALALTITUDE ASCENTS/DESCENTS,REAL MTN BIKING for MTN BIKERS!Take my advice Mr Mattice; stop riding pavement tothe 7-11,take a trip to some genuine mountain countrywith mts over 12,000ft and live up to your claims of what a superior bike is.Maybe it's not the bike,could be the rider....

Anyway,The Airborne is a proven bike that can handleterrrain superbly with durability.Only the rider willset the limitations what it can do on the singletrack.